The Grammy winner’s solo concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Jabez Sanford Hardin Performing Arts Center at the Columbia County Library.

“Sometimes, while a performer sounds great with a band backing them up, they sound even better when they’re just by themselves,” said concert promoter Mike Deas, the president and CEO of Augusta Amusements. “A lot of folks seem to like the more intimate feeling of an artist like that just performing with their instruments.”

Only one store failed to properly ID an underage alcohol buyer Thursday during the latest series of compliance checks at Columbia County Stores.

David Martin Ross, 24, a clerk at the Sprint store at 424 S. Belair Road in Martinez was cited after selling alcohol to an underage customer, according to a news release from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.

The citation is for a county ordinance violation and will be adjudicated in Magistrate’s Court.

The Mims family was overwhelmed with emotion Tuesday when they were reunited with their 7-year-old Dachshund that had been stuck inside their Martinez home when a fire broke out in a back bathroom.

They had no idea, however, that less than 24 hours later they’d be frantically worried about their pet once more.

No one, except for Chip the Dachshund, was inside the one-story brick home on the 300 block of Deerwood Court when Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue responded to the fire, said Battalion Chief Danny Kuhlmann.

Superior Court Judge Albert Pickett previously had denied bond in the case, but reconsidered a second petition for bond when Blake Weems’ family and his attorney, Travis Saul, presented an alternative plan for Weems’ release.

Early voting in Columbia County for the Aug. 21 runoff will begin Monday at the Board of Elections office in Evans.

Voters will be asked to settle races for the Republican nomination for the 12th District seat to the United States House of Representatives, and to the non-partisan District 1 seat for the Columbia County Board of Education.

Voting will take place Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Columbia County Board of Elections office at 500 Faircloth Drive, Building E, in Evans, said Columbia County Registration Coordinator Nancy Gay.

A year after its inception, Columbia County government offices are finding considerable worth in a program that mapped the county like Mars.

Last August, an SUV with a complicated camera rig mounted on its roof spent 2½ weeks patrolling the county, covering more than 1,130 miles and 2,500 sections of road. Its goal was to provide an accurate portrait of Columbia County in three dimensions. Called Earthmine, it’s the same technology that recently touched down on Mars with NASA’s Curiosity rover.

Columbia County commissioners Tuesday listened to public concerns about a proposed waste recovery site outside Grovetown and started over on the purchase of a road scraper.

Residents concerned about the impact of Tutt Contracting’s planned construction of a waste recovery facility on Gordon Highway voiced opposition to the plan, fearing environmental problems, increased traffic and a drop in property values.